On the weekend of May 20-22, Senna participated in the Padholders Cup Regional Races that had drivers from California, Washington, Idaho, Oregon and Canada. The entry list going into Senna’s Junior II races was the most we’ve ever had to race with. At 21 entries, this was going to be a very challenging weekend. Teams from The Race Factory, iKart, and Black Star Motorsports were going to bring the level of racing to the top tier. We decided to team up with some friends and fellow local competitors as we have all helped each other out before. There were five karts in our small area in various categories with three of the five being in Senna’s Junior II division. The weekend looked to be fun and challenging.
We arrived Thursday evening to take the trailer down to the paddock area and start the setup so when Friday morning practice arrived, we would be ready to go and not worry about unpacking the trailer. Friday was going to be all day practices and then Saturday and Sunday would have the same format of: a morning practice, qualifying, a pre-final and a final. Depending on how you finished in the previous session is how you would line up on the grid for the next race.
Friday Practice
- The day would have a total of four practices for each category with a lunch break after the second session. Senna would end up spinning out in first practice at turn 3. There was no damage to the kart but maybe some pride and the loss of seat time to understand the track in the weekend’s configuration.
- The second practice Senna was well off the pace but we knew our gearing was off. So we purchased a smaller gear from a 59/16 (3.369) to a 53/16 (3.313). The ideal ratio is 55/17 (3.24). This means that we would have slightly faster acceleration but less top-end speed. The swapping of the rear gear from a 59 tooth to a 53 tooth only took about ten-minutes to change. This did help Senna with his lap time coming down though but we were still over a second and a half off of the front runners.
- The third practice showed some improvement in time but still off the overall pace. He was closing the gap to the leaders. It was at this time that we needed to declare our racing tires for the weekend. We couldn’t afford to buy a new set like the factory racing teams so we went with what we had. We also had the option of a used set that was given to us by one of our original racing friends who gave Senna a set of tires. However, they had just a little bit too much wear on them to decide to race on. These tires will make great practice tires in the future though! Special thanks to the Meyer family for helping us.
- Before the last practice, I decided to lower
the axle (which raises the back end of the chassis). The purpose of
this is to raise the center of gravity and then improve turn in on the
corners to apply power sooner in the corner with less braking. I
also moved the caster forward to relax the kart so it become less
aggressive with steering input. We made the changes because turn 3
and 7 were the corners where we seemed to be losing the most time.
Senna ended up hating that setup and didn’t prefer the handling of the
kart. After the session we decided to revert back the caster changes
but left the axle change as it was.
Saturday Races
- Saturday’s format was a practice session,
followed by a qualifying session and then a pre-final and a final.
- The morning practice all was set and we were ready for the events of the day. However after a lap into the morning practice, Senna spun on the penultimate corner 7, and ended up in the grass yet again. However, the track marshal crossed the track and was able to help him get back on the track as it was “just practice and not a race” so he started off again only to spin out a couple corners later and get hit on the front right corner. They pulled his kart off the track and waited for the session to end. I went to the race official and told him that his kart is super heavy and I could help lift it. He allowed me to hop in the kart carrier truck and headed out. He said that the initial report is that there’s a steering problem. So now I knew there was damage. Once we lifted the kart I could immediately see that both tie rods snapped and the steering column was bent. I was going to have my hands full before the next race. Again, I’m fortunately enough to have great people around me and also fellow competitors around to help out. It was once again, all hands on deck as we tried to replace the parts needed to get going. I ran over to CMC Trailer to purchase a steering column, but I was fortunate enough to have the tie rods that I purchased the week before from Sharkshifter.
- Much like before, I had to really push myself as a mechanic to learn on the fly. Getting advice from other racers, mechanics and onlookers to get the kart ready in time for qualifying. I also learned that we needed to have push-back bumpers for the remainder of the weekend. This is a bracket that attaches to the front bumper and to the frame of the kart. If there’s too much of a front impact, the bumper will drop into the next notch down and results in a penalty or even disqualification. They were also looking for damages to the front bumper. If the damage is too great, then that will also prevent you from participating in the following races. These items were checked before entering the racing grid.
- Senna had to start off toward the back of qualifying because he didn’t finish any laps in the previous practice. However there were others who failed to also finish the morning practice or who were designated rookies (even though Senna is also technically a rookie) who were generally slower than he was. His starting position for qualifying was 18 out of 21 drivers.
- Right out the gate, all the drivers bottle necked onto the track and already was involved in a pile-up before the race had even started! Senna was patient enough to miss out on all the carnage but some were not so lucky with damaged karts that ended their session. Fortunately, no one was hurt and eventually their karts were repaired for the pre-final.
- Senna lined up on the grid with a few less drivers to start, and eventually ended the session 15th out of the 21 drivers. He had passed and made up a couple of positions and there were a couple of racers who spun off the track.
- There was no damage after qualifying, so I just needed to work on Senna’s front end alignment by using our neighboring pit crew’s laser sniping tool. We got the kart as straight as we could and got the tires prepped to the temperatures that we thought would be best for the race.
- For the pre-final, Senna started in 15th place and was able to improve to 14th place by the session’s end. He finally started to smile again as he was able to dip into the 45-second barrier with a 45.907.
- The final race for Saturday, ended as it began in 14th place. He got as high as 11th place from his fantastic starts but then eventually got passed back because out gearing was just enough off. My biggest complaint was that he was leaving the inside line exposed for people to easily pass him. I told him for Sunday, for every pass that he allowed on the inside going into turn 7, he would owe me $10. You’ll find out how that turns out after the Sunday race recap.
Sunday Races
- Sunday’s format was exactly the same as Saturday’s sessions: morning practice, qualifying, pre-final and final.
- Sunday’s morning practice went fine without any spinouts or issues but he mentioned that the kart still seemed to be a little off.
- Qualifying was interesting because according to timing and scoring, Senna finished in last place. However, there were some timing issues and eventually they would start him in 18th position for the Pre-final.
- Senna made a blistering start to the pre-final and moved up to 15th place by the end of the session beat out some of the kids that had been faster than him in the weekend. A top 10 performance could be in the cards as 16th though 8th were all close and all those positions could end up in any order.
- The final race for the day is when it all would fall apart. Senna started off in 15th place on the grid. We were lucky to even get to the grid however, as the race officials noticed too much damage to his front bumper. They let this final race go but said we needed to purchase a new bumper before his next race. Having barely made the grid, he had another flawless start that had him move up to 12th and was holding strong for a good couple of laps. Then Senna passed number twenty-eight. Something must have happened because at the turn 7 hairpin, she punted Senna, sending him and his kart up into the air and into the barrier. She had taken him out of the race and looks to have not used any brakes to make sure he was out. We tried to have someone look into the protest but none of the marshals saw the incident and there no penalties or disqualifications were given. Senna was heartbroken for sure and there was nothing he could do. Number twenty-eight went on to finish 12th and he knew at that point a top 10 was entirely possible.
- Over the entire weekend, Senna drew in quite the crowd of fellow racers that were in his age-group. During this time they all became a support group for one another and at the end, it was no different. They all leaned on each other and helped each other. It was truly something special to see. Competitors on the track, friends off the track.
- There are about four more kids missing from this photo that hung out over the weekend. All in the trailer, laughing, learning and being teenagers.
- From our experiences over the last couple of races, I have started to build out the karting trailer to have more of what we need and with a bit more organization. Now we have a toolbox, tire rack/rod, LED lighting, a clock and more.
- Oh and as for the $10 for each pass on the inside line? Senna didn’t let one person on the inside the entire day on Sunday.
Next Race
- Our next race will be July 2nd and 3rd at the McMinnville track. Please come join us and help support Senna. We have our own pit area for that weekend so you will be able to lounge and relax between racing sessions.
Special note to the sponsors:
Thank you for your patience on receiving this email. It was a challenging weekend and I must have written are revamped this email several times. It still doesn’t seem like it did justice for the events of the weekend, nor how we felt at the end of it. There were a lot of emotions going on. Senna is okay, both mentally and physically and is ready for the next race. We have some ongoing projects with the kart though and by no means have we given up. We hope to see you out there at the races!